Device for securing feed or water bucket

ABSTRACT

A device for securing feed or water bucket includes a hook for receiving the bail of a bucket and a support for engaging the lip of the bucket. The device locks the bucket in position so that a horse or other animal is prevented from accidentally knocking the bucket off.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of U.S. provisional patent applicationSer. No. 62/539,331 filed Jul. 31, 2017, entitled DEVICE FOR SECURINGFEED OR WATER BUCKET, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates to care of animals and more particularly to adevice for securing a feed or water bucket or pail to prevent it frombeing knocked off by a horse or other livestock.

Owners of horses and other similar animals often provide water or feedfor the horse in a stall by providing a bucket for the horse to drink oreat from. A typical bucket has Placing the bucket on the ground isproblematic, as the horse can easily knock the bucket over, leaving theanimal without water or food until a person returns to refill thebucket. To address this, wall mounted holders have been devised, such asa hanging a bucket in the stall at a suitable height so the horse caneasily drink/eat from the bucket, while preventing the bucket from beingknocked over. One such solution uses a metal frame that mounts to thewall and provides a shelf to hold the bucket, and side wall bumpers andan upper level rim to make it hard for the horse to dislodge the bucket.Such holders require substantial support for mounting, and could injurethe horse if the horse runs into the metal frame.

More economical is to provide a bracket to hang the bucket from thewall. However, it is typical for the horse to knock the bucket off thebracket.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,415 provides a upper hook to hang the bail of thebucket on, and a lower L shaped bracket that the edge of the bucketrests on for support. A sliding lock is lowered to engage the upper lipof the bucket, tightened by a wing nut to secure it. The bail of thebucket is held in the hook by a clasp member that allows the bail toslide in easily, but which is more difficult to unlock for removing thebail when it is time to change the bucket. A user must simultaneouslyuse 2 hands to remove the bucket, one hand to move the clasp to an openposition while the other hand moves the bail away from the hook beforethe clasp is allowed to close again.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,201,355 provides a locking feature to lock the bail inplace, by providing a vertically movable rod that the bail is placedbehind by lifting the rod, moving the bail into position back of thespace that the rod occupied, and then lowering the rod. Thus the rodacts as both a hook to hold the bail and a lock to keep the horse fromlocking the bail loose. Using this device requires that 2 hands be usedto mount the bucket, holding the bail in position against the back wallof the device with one hand while raising and lowering the rod withanother hand to secure and lock the bail to the device. If the bucket isalready full with water, this operation becomes more difficult as thebucket will be very heavy and harder to hold in position while operatingthe bail securement/lock rod.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the disclosure, an easy to operate mounting andlocking member for hanging a water/feed bucket for a horse or otheranimal is provided. The device is suitably configured as a 2 partmember, with a base that is mounted to the wall and a sliding lockportion that removably secures the bucket and bail to the wall.

The subject matter of the present technology is particularly pointed outand distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of this specification.However, both the organization and method of operation, together withfurther advantages and embodiments thereof, may best be understood byreference to the following description taken in connection withaccompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to likeelements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bucket mounting/securing device ofthe disclosure in the unlocked position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bucket mounting/securing device ofthe disclosure in the closed and locked position;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the bucket mounting/securing device takenalong line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the bucket mounting/securing device; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the bucket mounting/securing device takenalong line 5-5 of FIG. 2, with the addition of a bucket mounted thereto.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The system according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosurecomprises a 2 part device that includes a mounting portion for mountingto a wall and a sliding portion that interlocks with the mountingportion and slides between an open position that allows a bucket to bemounted or dismounted, and a locked position that secures the bucket toprevent it from being knocked off by the horse.

Referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view of the bucket mounting/securingdevice of the disclosure in the unlocked position, the device 10comprises a rear mounting plate 12, which is suitably rectangular inoverall form in the illustrated embodiment. The mounting plate 12 hasplural recesses 14 defined therein to receive mounting screws, nails,bolts, etc., for example, so that the bracket can be secured to a wallin the horse's stall. A bucket lip receiving member 16 is positionednear the bottom end of the plate, adapted to engage with the innerportion of the bucket lip. Buckets designed for this use typically havea flat edge defined so that the bucket can engage a bucket lip receivingmember, whether prior art types or the bucket lip receiving member ofthe present disclosure.

A bucket bail hook 18 is defined toward the upper end of the bracket,providing an upward oriented hook member that the bail of the bucket canbe hung over.

Mounted to the front face of the plate 12 is a sliding lock plate 20,which is approximately ¾ the length of plate 12, and includes a hookopening 22 that allows the hook to protrude outwardly from plate 12,beyond the plane of member 20, while allowing access to the hook. At thebottom of member 20 is a lock shelf 24 that provides a bottom surface 26adapted to engage with the top of the bucket rim when in a closedposition. The position illustrated in FIG. 1 is the open position. Thesliding lock plate further includes a latch opening 30, which interactswith a latch member discussed hereinbelow to provide a locking functionto allow the device to be locked in the closed position.

The sliding lock member is constructed to interact with the plate 12 toallow the lock member to slide downwardly in the direction of arrow 28in FIG. 1. When so moved downwardly from the configuration of FIG. 1,the result is illustrated in FIG. 2, a perspective view of the bucketmounting/securing device of the disclosure in the closed and lockedposition. In this view, the plate 20 has moved downwardly such that theupper edge 32 of hook opening 22 has moved to be below the upper edge ofbucket bail hook 18. This will function to lock the bail of the bucketin the space 34 behind the protruding portion of the hook. This preventsthe bail from being accidentally knocked out of engagement with the hookby the horse.

Further, with the movement of the sliding lock plate 20 downwardly, thelock shelf 24 has moved down, defining a space 36 between the bottomface 26 and the upper edge of bucket lip receiving member 16. Thedimensions of this space are defined such that a secure engagement ismade with the lip of the bucket, securing the bucket in place.

Additional mounting holes 14 a are visible in FIG. 2, which were blockedfrom view in FIG. 1

Referring now to FIG. 3, a sectional view of the bucketmounting/securing device taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1, the lockingfeature that allows the device to be locked in the close position willbe described. Plate 12 includes a spring loaded latch member 38 in aposition such that when plate 20 is moved to the closed position, thespring loaded latch member 38 will snap into the space defined by latchopening 30. In the view of FIG. 3, the latch member 38 is pushedrearwardly by the latch member riding on the back surface of slidinglock member 20. But, once the lock member 20 is moved to the closedposition, the latch member is free to move forwardly into the spacedefined by latch opening 30. The lower face 40 then is engaged with thelower face 42 of opening 30, which latches the plate 20 into the closedposition. With this, the horse is unable to accidentally push the plate20 upwardly, so the bucket remains secured.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the bucket mounting/securing device with thelatch 38 in the latched position.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the bucket mounting/securing device takenalong line 5-5 of FIG. 2, with the addition of a bucket mounted thereto.The bucket 40 is positioned so that the lip 42 of the bucket fits overand behind bucket lip receiving member 16, and bail 44 is fit over hook18. The plate 20 locks the bail in position over the hook, and latch 38is moved forwardly into latch opening 30, locking the bucket in place.To remove the bucket, latch member 38 is depressed in the direction ofarrow 46, to disengage it from latch opening 30, and plate 20 is thenmoved upwardly, freeing the bail and bucket lip from their lockedpositions, which allows the bucket to be removed for replacement,cleaning, etc.

The device is suitably capable of being manufactured from a number ofsubstances, metal, plastics, whether molded, injection molded, milled orother suitable manufacturing processes.

In accordance with the above, an improved bucket holder is provided thatis easily operated and allows owners of horses or other animals toprovide unattended water or feed buckets with considerably lessenedlikelihood that the horse will be able to knock the bucket loose.

While a preferred embodiment of the technology has been shown anddescribed, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that manychanges and modifications may be made without departing from the broaderaspects. The appended claims are therefore intended to cover all suchchanges and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope ofthe technology.

1. A support bracket for a bucket, comprising: a base adapted formounting to a support; a bail engager for receiving and supporting abail of the bucket; a lip engager for receiving and supporting a rim ofthe bucket; and a sliding lock member adapted to simultaneously lock thebail to the bail engager, and lock the lip to the lip engager.
 2. Thesupport bracket according to claim 1, further comprising a latch to lockthe sliding lock member in the locked position.
 3. The support bracketaccording to claim 2, wherein the latch includes a spring loaded memberthat interacts with an opening in the sliding lock member to lock thesliding lock member in the locked position.
 4. The support bracketaccording to claim 2, wherein the latch depresses to release the slidinglock member from the locked position.
 5. The support bracket accordingto claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the support bracket is formedof plastic.
 6. The support bracket according to claim 1, wherein atleast a portion of the support bracket is formed of injection moldedplastic.
 7. The support bracket according to claim 1, wherein at least aportion of the support bracket is formed of metal.
 8. The supportbracket according to claim 1, wherein said base comprises pluralmounting holes for receiving a fastener therein for mounting.
 9. Amethod of providing a support bracket for a bucket, comprising:providing a base adapted for mounting to a support; providing a bailengager for receiving and supporting a bail of the bucket; providing arim engager for receiving and supporting a rim of the bucket; andproviding a sliding lock member adapted to simultaneously lock the bailto the bail engager, and lock the rim to the rim engager.
 10. The methodaccording to claim 9, further comprising providing a latch to lock thesliding lock member in the locked position.
 11. The method according toclaim 10, wherein the latch includes a spring loaded member thatinteracts with an opening in the sliding lock member to lock the slidinglock member in the locked position.
 12. The method according to claim10, wherein the latch depresses to release the sliding lock member fromthe locked position.
 13. The method according to claim 9, wherein atleast a portion of the support bracket is formed of plastic.
 14. Themethod according to claim 9, wherein the support bracket is formed ofinjection molded plastic.
 15. The method according to claim 9, whereinthe support bracket is formed of metal.
 16. A mounting bracket forsupporting a feed or water pail for an animal in a stall, comprising: amounting plate for fixing to a portion of the stall; and a sliding lockplate for selectively locking or unlocking the feed or water pailagainst accidental dislodging from the mounting bracket.
 17. Themounting bracket according to claim 16, further comprising a bailreceiver for engaging with a bail of the pail.
 18. The mounting bracketaccording to claim 16, further comprising a rim receiver for engagingwith a rim of the pail.
 19. The mounting bracket according to claim 16,wherein the sliding lock plate locks a bail of the pail and a rim of thepail into secure engagement with the mounting bracket when in a lockedposition.
 20. The mounting bracket according to claim 16, furthercomprising: a bail receiver for engaging with a bail of the pail; and arim receiver for engaging with a rim of the pail, wherein the slidinglock plate locks the bail of the pail and the rim of the pail intosecure engagement with the mounting bracket when in a locked position.